I have been a fierce critic of many preachers that do not focus on the gospel.
I am preaching at my local church although I did not study at any seminary. Today I preached Matthew 8:5-13 about the centurion's faith. I tried to focus that he saw a divine authority in Jesus to the point that he did not consider himself worth of receiving Jesus at home, even though he believed in Jesus cure.
I spent some time talking about hierarchy, authority and responsibility: an error from a obedient son is covered by his father, while an error from a rebellious son, not. In the same way, my error are covered when I submit myself to Jesus.
After preaching, Diana criticized me for being too verbose, too wordy making the congregation sleeps.
I know I have to limit my preaching time. Today it was around one hour. I must preach for 30 minutes at maximum. Generally, I have been preaching for 50 minutes. I will make some effort to improve it.
The Lord is above everything and above my life. He has been watching me from heaven. I think that He sent me this critique to humble me. Certainly I need some humility in my life.
Sunday, May 27, 2018
Saturday, May 19, 2018
Fear and prudence
The prudent measures the risks and understands how his decisions may impact his life. For instance: the prudent uses a safe belt because he has nothing to lose and a life to gain. The prudent fears a foolish death in a car accident. A fool does not acknowledge the consequences of his bad decisions. He even can not understand what is going on.
Proverbs attaches fear of the Lord to wisdom.
In proverbs 9:10:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Today, there is some kind of false message where punishment is evil and, as the Lord is good, he behaves as Santa Claus. How may some god like that be feared?
The Lord is good and just. Certainly, He punishes evil. The fear of the Lord brings me to repentance, to turn to Him. The knowledge of his holiness and of my sinful condition brings me fear and at the same time, rest in Jesus.
Proverbs attaches fear of the Lord to wisdom.
In proverbs 9:10:
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
Today, there is some kind of false message where punishment is evil and, as the Lord is good, he behaves as Santa Claus. How may some god like that be feared?
The Lord is good and just. Certainly, He punishes evil. The fear of the Lord brings me to repentance, to turn to Him. The knowledge of his holiness and of my sinful condition brings me fear and at the same time, rest in Jesus.
Children are like arrows
In Psalm 127: 3-4, we read:
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Are my children like arrows in my hand?
Nowadays, families work in a very different way than in old times. Today, children go to school, enjoy their friends, watch their movies, play their video games and hardly obey orders; simply because, we, as parents, do not give orders and do not teach anything about our daily routine to children.
I realized that I should give more orders to my children. For instance: the younger boy do not show initiative to study, work; anything. In the morning, I like to eat a banana with oats, but we ran out of bananas. So, I will ask the younger boy to buy some bananas tomorrow morning when I will need it to my oat porridge. Isnt't it as an arrow in the hand of a warrior? I can go further using my children to go further. In fact, I understand that it is a divine obligation as a father to make use of them. I also understand that the Lord is blessing me when I command them.
Children are a heritage from the Lord,
offspring a reward from him.
4 Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
Are my children like arrows in my hand?
Nowadays, families work in a very different way than in old times. Today, children go to school, enjoy their friends, watch their movies, play their video games and hardly obey orders; simply because, we, as parents, do not give orders and do not teach anything about our daily routine to children.
I realized that I should give more orders to my children. For instance: the younger boy do not show initiative to study, work; anything. In the morning, I like to eat a banana with oats, but we ran out of bananas. So, I will ask the younger boy to buy some bananas tomorrow morning when I will need it to my oat porridge. Isnt't it as an arrow in the hand of a warrior? I can go further using my children to go further. In fact, I understand that it is a divine obligation as a father to make use of them. I also understand that the Lord is blessing me when I command them.
Sunday, May 13, 2018
My church future
Today is Sunday, Mummy's day.
I spent this afternoon chatting with a young guy, 20 years old.
He is studying "The purpose driven church" from Rick Warren.
I have some objections to Saddleback church (the Rick Warren's church) and his book; anyway, after some chatting, I noticed he was trying to diagnose the problems in our church.
Our church is targeted to nikkeis - japanese descendants; it is not growing and the elders are dying. I said many things to my young friend:
- The temple of Jerusalem was the great church in the Bible, but it was destroyed in 70 aC. All the churches such as from Antioch, Ephesus, etc. did not last to our days. The Lord creates and destroys churches. The prophet Jeremiah preached the destruction of Jerusalem and offended many Jewish leaders. We have no basis to argue that the Lord desires our little church to go on. Christians were fleeing from Jerusalem due to persecution and in this process they spread the gospel to us, gentiles.
- Our little church needs a revival from the Spirit.
- Our little church needs to repent. We need to put off our masks and confess our sins to the Lord.
- You are worried about our church future, but sensei (pastor)'s children and siblings are not. I am not telling you the church problems, but isn't it strange this lack of support from the closest people?
I said many things, and here at home, I concluded that my young friend should ask questions such as:
- What does the Lord expect from my life?
- How should I deal with my parents?
- Do I have Lord's peace and joy?
I really found some nobility when he considered our church's problems, but a better question is: what do the Lord expect from me now? Although, I would really appreciate that all church live the Word on a daily basis, I stopped worrying about our little church future. The thought: "Jesus in me" turns myself into a church, my family into a church, so I have closer churches to worry about. Besides, I do believe that my Lord may easily replace me to another local church. Meanwhile, I hope to be blessed and to bless this little nikkey church.
I spent this afternoon chatting with a young guy, 20 years old.
He is studying "The purpose driven church" from Rick Warren.
I have some objections to Saddleback church (the Rick Warren's church) and his book; anyway, after some chatting, I noticed he was trying to diagnose the problems in our church.
Our church is targeted to nikkeis - japanese descendants; it is not growing and the elders are dying. I said many things to my young friend:
- The temple of Jerusalem was the great church in the Bible, but it was destroyed in 70 aC. All the churches such as from Antioch, Ephesus, etc. did not last to our days. The Lord creates and destroys churches. The prophet Jeremiah preached the destruction of Jerusalem and offended many Jewish leaders. We have no basis to argue that the Lord desires our little church to go on. Christians were fleeing from Jerusalem due to persecution and in this process they spread the gospel to us, gentiles.
- Our little church needs a revival from the Spirit.
- Our little church needs to repent. We need to put off our masks and confess our sins to the Lord.
- You are worried about our church future, but sensei (pastor)'s children and siblings are not. I am not telling you the church problems, but isn't it strange this lack of support from the closest people?
I said many things, and here at home, I concluded that my young friend should ask questions such as:
- What does the Lord expect from my life?
- How should I deal with my parents?
- Do I have Lord's peace and joy?
I really found some nobility when he considered our church's problems, but a better question is: what do the Lord expect from me now? Although, I would really appreciate that all church live the Word on a daily basis, I stopped worrying about our little church future. The thought: "Jesus in me" turns myself into a church, my family into a church, so I have closer churches to worry about. Besides, I do believe that my Lord may easily replace me to another local church. Meanwhile, I hope to be blessed and to bless this little nikkey church.
Saturday, May 12, 2018
A very strange music
Every Saturday, I visit my parents. Dad is 80 years old and Mammy, 84, with Alzheimer.
Today, as soon I and my wife arrived, Dad told us:
- I do not know how it is possible that some strange music plays day and night. It is so disturbing.
- What kind of music is it?
- It must be targeted to annoy me. It says something like: You are dying, you are dying; Your son has already died, died ...
- Is there another one who can listen it?
- Your mammy can.
- But, is there someone besides mammy who can listen to it? Does my brother listen (because he and his family are supporting my parents)? I asked my brother: Do you listen this music?
- No, I can not listen anything.
I realized it must be something from his mind or from the devil, so I asked my father to read Psalm 23:
my cup overflows.
I paraphrased to him:
- Even though I listen to this strange music, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me (because I notice you are protecting me).
But, dad was much more aggressive and upset today. Perhaps, he thought I was not in fact making anything to stop the music; that I was just saying empty words. I asked him: do you pray for deliverance? He was anger and did not want to answer me, and after he said something like: "of course!" but it was not very convincing.
Then, I told him about oppression by the devil. Jesus came to deliver the oppressed whenever this oppression were real or not real.
I remembered him about my own oppression when I was a teenager: I was bullied and alone. Who would be a friend of a bullied guy? However I had something: hope that it would be over someday. The lacking of hope leads to despair but by other hand, if we know that we will be, for sure, delivered from oppression, then we get strength to support it. In Jesus we have hope.
Certainly, I told him, you are going to die, me too; so is the music wrong?
And yet, it is wrong because Jesus said:
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
So the music is right, and it is wrong, who cares? Why pay attention to it?
I think that these last words made him rethink and be more still.
Today, as soon I and my wife arrived, Dad told us:
- I do not know how it is possible that some strange music plays day and night. It is so disturbing.
- What kind of music is it?
- It must be targeted to annoy me. It says something like: You are dying, you are dying; Your son has already died, died ...
- Is there another one who can listen it?
- Your mammy can.
- But, is there someone besides mammy who can listen to it? Does my brother listen (because he and his family are supporting my parents)? I asked my brother: Do you listen this music?
- No, I can not listen anything.
I realized it must be something from his mind or from the devil, so I asked my father to read Psalm 23:
4. Even though I walk
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
through the darkest valley,[a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
I paraphrased to him:
- Even though I listen to this strange music, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me (because I notice you are protecting me).
But, dad was much more aggressive and upset today. Perhaps, he thought I was not in fact making anything to stop the music; that I was just saying empty words. I asked him: do you pray for deliverance? He was anger and did not want to answer me, and after he said something like: "of course!" but it was not very convincing.
Then, I told him about oppression by the devil. Jesus came to deliver the oppressed whenever this oppression were real or not real.
I remembered him about my own oppression when I was a teenager: I was bullied and alone. Who would be a friend of a bullied guy? However I had something: hope that it would be over someday. The lacking of hope leads to despair but by other hand, if we know that we will be, for sure, delivered from oppression, then we get strength to support it. In Jesus we have hope.
Certainly, I told him, you are going to die, me too; so is the music wrong?
And yet, it is wrong because Jesus said:
John 11:25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; 26 and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
So the music is right, and it is wrong, who cares? Why pay attention to it?
I think that these last words made him rethink and be more still.
Saturday, May 5, 2018
We sin because we have free will. True?
I have just watched:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9k-oO9TOUg
An arminian says that sin is something against the will of the Lord, so how would the Lord decrees or makes it happen? It makes no sense: the Lord makes a creature sin and punishes it. Therefore, we sin because we have free will.
Is it true?
The Christianity believes that here on earth, just one Just lived: Jesus. All others are sinners.
If we have free will, would not be possible to happen that someone would not sin?
We believe that there was no just and never will be except Jesus.
If there is free will, how can we declare this absence of just men?
We sin because we are naturally departed from the Lord and we are locked on sinning. Sin for a human is like the law of gravity that was established by the Lord. Although, sin is against the will of the Lord, it will happen to anyone detached from Him; because He established so. The Universe is governed by natural laws and natural behaviors. In some way, the Lord makes a man sin, due to this natural law, common to all humans.
The supernatural is a man pleasing the Lord. He needs a divine intervention, a touch from Jesus, to be purified.
The Lord is not confined to our Universe and our time. The universe will flow according to the natural laws. Men are like fishes in a aquarium and can not escape it, but some men were chosen to see the Creator thanks to a break in the natural law that was accomplished by Jesus. He died so that I could live. He made a miracle happen on my life.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9k-oO9TOUg
An arminian says that sin is something against the will of the Lord, so how would the Lord decrees or makes it happen? It makes no sense: the Lord makes a creature sin and punishes it. Therefore, we sin because we have free will.
Is it true?
The Christianity believes that here on earth, just one Just lived: Jesus. All others are sinners.
If we have free will, would not be possible to happen that someone would not sin?
We believe that there was no just and never will be except Jesus.
If there is free will, how can we declare this absence of just men?
We sin because we are naturally departed from the Lord and we are locked on sinning. Sin for a human is like the law of gravity that was established by the Lord. Although, sin is against the will of the Lord, it will happen to anyone detached from Him; because He established so. The Universe is governed by natural laws and natural behaviors. In some way, the Lord makes a man sin, due to this natural law, common to all humans.
The supernatural is a man pleasing the Lord. He needs a divine intervention, a touch from Jesus, to be purified.
The Lord is not confined to our Universe and our time. The universe will flow according to the natural laws. Men are like fishes in a aquarium and can not escape it, but some men were chosen to see the Creator thanks to a break in the natural law that was accomplished by Jesus. He died so that I could live. He made a miracle happen on my life.
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